GT: Blue Jays @ White Sox, Fri 5/7, 7:10pm CT

[Dick Allen]

What's going to happen when the White Sox home run pace slows down? Do they really have a line up that can string 4 or 5 hits together? They are among the league leaders in homers and steals and coming into tonight have struck out less than any AL team and they are horrible. Something needs to be done soon. One series win this year.

 

The tumbleweeds are returning to USCF. Starling Castro has as many RBI in his first game as Mark Teahen has this season. He also had more extra base hits after one AB than Juan Pierre has this season.

[caulfield12]

And more than GOLDEN BOY BECKHAM, too...haha. (Cowley, still an a--hole actually, that never accomplished anything athletically in his life.)

 

We did win TWO series, haha....against the Mariners (who really really suck now) and the Royals (wow).

 

We're also a putrid 1-5 against CLE, the same team who came into tonight in last place in the ALCD with Austin Kearns as their second best offensive player.

Edited May 8, 2010 by caulfield12

[greg775]

Sox continue to resemble a bad bad baseball team.

Should be interesting to see the firesale of all the guys who make a decent buck as the season progresses.

Jerry will be dropping salary once we are 12 back; if we don't have a chance to win, he'll want to save some cash.

Edited May 8, 2010 by greg775

[SoxAce]

I think Ozzie worries about pitch count way too much this year (trying to get guys 100+ then take them out) instead of using his head when he sees the guy gave up a hit or two and was battling the whole game instead of looking dominant.

 

KW said he'll know his evaluation of the team at the end of the month, Steve Stone said give it 50 games to see.... well... we'll see.

Edited May 8, 2010 by SoxAce

[flavum]

I think that 50 game mark is just being generous. Yeah, I guess they could have hoped to be 26-25 at the end of May, but that's probably not going to happen. They won't be going 14-7 the rest of the month.

[kitekrazy]

f*** that, I'm more pissed about the 8th. Buehrle let them tie the game when he had no business still pitching.

 

Not me. They only gave him 3 runs. What if the next pitcher gives up a hit? Mark gets the loss.

 

[kitekrazy]

Man, Alexei is awful at the plate. .240 OBP.. hell f***ing yes!

 

He's awful period. A one year wonder. He seems to fit as the typical White Sox-low baseball IQ.

[The Ginger Kid]

A month and a half into the season this team is one of the worst in baseball. I'd like to think they can start to play better but one thing feels certain, it's not going to be an overnight change.

 

Feel the suck.

 

Embrace the suck.

 

Let it go.

[kitekrazy]

What's going to happen when the White Sox home run pace slows down? Do they really have a line up that can string 4 or 5 hits together? They are among the league leaders in homers and steals and coming into tonight have struck out less than any AL team and they are horrible. Something needs to be done soon. One series win this year.

 

I bet they are near the bottom on drawing walks.

 

[daggins]

Actually they are 12th in MLB in walks and dead last in strikeouts. The problem is, largely, that the team is not hitting the ball well. The Sox LD% must be stunningly low.

[daggins]

Actually they are 12th in MLB in walks and dead last in strikeouts. The problem is, largely, that the team is not hitting the ball well. The Sox LD% must be stunningly low.

 

Oh and the starting pitching has stunk. That never helps.

[daggins]

Yup, LD% is league-last 16.2. Pretty normal FB rate but GB rate is too high.

Edited May 8, 2010 by daggins

[ThunderBolt]

Ozzie on Pierre's bunt. "That's his game, that's how he plays. I'm fine with it."

[daggins]

His game sucks

[DBAHO]

I would give KW so much credit if he just got power hitters at all 9 positions, and then tried to outslug everyone. No more slap hitters, no more bunting.

I go back to the argument of about 5-6 years ago, when this team did make the playoffs, but too often you'd see them put up very low scores in the playoffs because of the "all or nothing" approach. So it's which of the 2 evils do you prefer here I suppose.

 

Quite simply, this team needs more OBP, needs more guys getting on base, because Jones, Konerko and Rios have hit very well so far. Can you expect them to keep doing that, I don't know, it's certainly possible. But when Pierre and Beckham are both hitting below the Mendoza Line, obviously that's going to have a huge negative impact on your RBI opportunities.

[DBAHO]

His game sucks

I tell you right now, if KW doesn't trade for Pierre, and uses that money to sign Damon instead, this team could possibly be at .500 quite easily.

 

I've been a KW backer over the years, but that's the 1 move that he's made over the past few seasons which I'm really annoyed at.

 

Of course, do you blame Ozzie for forcing KW to trade for Pierre, or was it just KW who decided to make that move, I don't know, but someone's gotta take responsibility for it.

[daggins]

Blame em both if you like. He's always been durable and reliable, but he seems a bit slower and his "game" doesn't translate to the AL without blinding speed.

[DBAHO]

His game just doesn't translate well to a ballpark like ours pretty much in general.

 

Damon showed last season, that you can easily lead - off, put up a very good OBP and produce some much needed pop as well, although he's a hitter who's smart enough to realise now at Detroit that he doesn't need to be hitting for power.

 

Dye's words were quite interesting last week when he said that you need to hit for power at the Cell, otherwise it's hard to generate runs. And looking how the Sox's offense has dropped off over the past few seasons while Ozzie has tried to implement his smallball / speed style of offense, I'd pretty much have to agree with him.

[greg775]

I tell you right now, if KW doesn't trade for Pierre, and uses that money to sign Damon instead, this team could possibly be at .500 quite easily.

 

Forget Damon, who was a long shot. Roast me over the coals, we'd be way better off with Pods. He had a better chance at keeping Pods than getting Damon. Pods was one of our best players last year and has been KC's best player this year by far.

[caulfield12]

The point is, allocating $6 million to Damon for one year, versus committing to the uncertainty of Pods or Pierre (at $8-10 million) over two years.....that's a no-brainer.

 

Damon>Pods=Pierre

[DBAHO]

Forget Damon, who was a long shot. Roast me over the coals, we'd be way better off with Pods. He had a better chance at keeping Pods than getting Damon. Pods was one of our best players last year and has been KC's best player this year by far.

Damon was not a long shot at all. If KW doesn't trade for Pierre, he saves 4-5M, of which you could have easily put towards signing Damon. Damon only signed with the Tigers because they offered him the best deal.

 

If the White Sox offered the same deal, hands down I've got no doubts he would have signed with us.

 

Podsednik's time was probably up here, it was best for both parties to move on. The Sox just haven't done a good job at all replacing him.

[caulfield12]

"We have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, we have to stop complaining, we have to play as hard as we can and hope things work out," catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "In the end, it's going to work out or it's not."

 

mark gonzales/chicagotribune.com

[southsider2k5]

I tell you right now, if KW doesn't trade for Pierre, and uses that money to sign Damon instead, this team could possibly be at .500 quite easily.

 

I've been a KW backer over the years, but that's the 1 move that he's made over the past few seasons which I'm really annoyed at.

 

Of course, do you blame Ozzie for forcing KW to trade for Pierre, or was it just KW who decided to make that move, I don't know, but someone's gotta take responsibility for it.

 

No one expected the price on Damon to drop that much.

[fathom]

I go back to the argument of about 5-6 years ago, when this team did make the playoffs, but too often you'd see them put up very low scores in the playoffs because of the "all or nothing" approach. So it's which of the 2 evils do you prefer here I suppose.

 

And I'll say my argument is that you could have had Benji Molina leading off in 2005, and that team would have made the playoffs. Great pitching can mask a lot of offensive woes.

[Harry Chappas]

I think LD% and walks go hand in hand. The more selective you are the harder you are going to hit the ball. When you swing at pitches that are out of the zone or pitchers pitches early in the count you are going to make easy outs.

 

This the thing I think the Sox do not care about and hence the numbers are what they are and will continue to be.

 

A 2-0 pitch does not need to be swung at just because it is a strike.